I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a burst of energy (= a short sudden increase in energy )
▪
He tried to summon up one final burst of energy, but his legs wouldn’t respond.
a burst of laughter (= a short period of loud laughter )
▪
There was a loud burst of laughter behind me.
a burst tyre
▪
On lap two, Millar suffered a burst tire, which caused him to crash.
a door flies/bursts open (= opens very suddenly and quickly )
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Then the door burst open and two men with guns came in.
a fit/flash/burst of temper (= when you are very angry for a short time )
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A businessman assaulted his wife and son in a fit of temper, a court heard yesterday.
a pipe bursts
▪
A burst pipe can cause major structural damage quite quickly.
a wave/burst/surge of enthusiasm (= a sudden feeling of enthusiasm )
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The new year began with a fresh wave of enthusiasm.
be brimming/bursting/bubbling with enthusiasm (= be very excited and enthusiastic )
▪
Andrea’s voice was brimming with enthusiasm when she told John her plans.
be bursting with pride (= feel very proud )
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I could see that her mother was bursting with pride.
be full of energy/be bursting with energy (= have a lot of energy )
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I felt happy and full of energy.
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The stage was bursting with energy.
burst into laughter (= suddenly start laughing )
▪
Flora burst into laughter when I told her the joke.
burst into tears (= suddenly start crying )
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She burst into tears and begged me to stay.
burst of...gunfire
▪
I heard a burst of distant gunfire .
burst out laughing (= suddenly start laughing )
▪
She looked at him and burst out laughing.
burst...balloon
▪
He burst the balloon in my face.
burst/break into song (= start singing )
▪
The crowd spontaneously burst into song.
bursting point (= a time when something is completely full )
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The hospital was full to bursting point.
full (up) to bursting British English informal (= completely full )
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The filing cabinet was full to bursting.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
almost
▪
Almost bursting with frustration, Carla Sloane swept past Mr Skipton and out of the kitchen.
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He had succeeded where I had quit, and I almost burst with pride.
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She struggled, kicking out hopelessly, and her heart almost burst with panic.
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Agnes had almost burst out laughing when she first realized this, but you wouldn't be able to argue with them.
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In a trench to his rear that he had ordered to be abandoned the previous night, eight shells burst almost simultaneously.
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It produced an air burst almost a mile wide.
apart
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The volley gun is burst apart and its crew blasted to pieces.
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Her head felt as if it would burst apart .
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Ezra did not back away when the water burst apart .
forth
▪
Will tomorrow's flashes of scientific insight burst forth beneath the strobe lights of studio 54?
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Athena burst forth , armed as a warrior.
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It is time to leave off, his daughter tells him, it s time to burst forth like a butterfly.
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But it is hard to resist a plant once you see it burst forth in flawless bloom from the frozen ground.
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Within that frigate were seeds of destruction that would soon burst forth .
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Sown in March, they will be full and leafy by the time the roses burst forth in early June.
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Thwarted in the East it then burst forth in the West.
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Resurrection, therefore, means that moment when one bursts forth from the sepulchre of the old man.
in
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At any minute Penumbra's killers could burst in here and carry you off.
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Finally she burst in on him with a big kiss.
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Her habit of jealously bursting in on Gustave when he was dining with friends was notorious.
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The mob in reaction burst in and set the torch to the structure.
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A few seconds later the door swung back open and the chef burst in .
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They burst in on the somewhat startled signalman who was puzzled by the dramatic appearance of the two familiar faces.
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When he came bursting in from the cold, Maggie knew some-thing was wrong.
out
▪
The war is over and everyone bursts out singing!
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The whole group bursts out laughing.
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Immediately they all burst out into shouts of applause and praise.
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Suddenly three round-headed porpoises came bursting out of the nearly vertical wavefront immediately behind us.
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A door blew open and the pent sounds burst out fleeing.
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The holly tree shrank, then burst out again, swelling into the shape of a woman.
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If I bottle it up, then it bursts out .
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It burst out again over iconoclasm.
suddenly
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Ten minutes after the break Middlesbrough suddenly burst into attack with two good chances in a minute.
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One final, explosive question remains: Why did a virus that was once so rare suddenly burst into a global pandemic?
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At dinner in the garden one evening, for instance, two perfectly ordinary businessmen suddenly burst into a Verdi duet.
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The discontent with de Gaulle's policies, which had been building steadily since 1958, suddenly burst into the open.
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An innocent-looking box will suddenly burst one side with garish laughter.
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If voters say they want politicians to care, how do you show it - you can't suddenly burst into tears.
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The flame that had been burning inside her since their first kiss burst suddenly into flame.
then
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The holly tree shrank, then burst out again, swelling into the shape of a woman.
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Gorbachev looked shocked by my familiarity, then burst into laughter.
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Lungs pounding out torrents of frozen breath, we speed down narrow forest corridors, then burst into dazzling clearings.
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He began to suffocate and then burst through a plane of white anger to the surface.
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She nodded in affirmation, then burst into shuddering tears.
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Yo went quiet for the first time in months, then burst into tears.
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Thwarted in the East it then burst forth in the West.
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The cabin then burst into fire, destroying the entire aircraft.
through
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In the dying minutes, full-back, Paul Bodin burst through .
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Following a brief but noisy scuffle, the window banged open and a shadowy figure burst through .
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Leeds continued to pile on the points as Iro burst through for loose forward Hanley to score a seventh try.
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John Hendrie burst through in the closing minutes, but his strong shot was pushed away for a corner by Bob Bolder.
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Depressing the handle, he burst through into the room beyond.
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And when it bursts through , it's a flood.
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Then, as if by magic, the sun burst through what had until then been a rather grey day.
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Andy Payton was denied with a good Bobby Mimms save as he burst through on the first occasion.
■ NOUN
applause
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The curtains closed and the audience burst into applause and cheers.
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On the television, quick bursts of canned applause .
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The bowing stopped: the hundred men burst into applause .
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The courtroom burst into applause and shouts when the verdict was read.
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Jeffries turned away to look out the window and the class burst into applause .
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The audience burst into grateful applause .
balloon
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The soldier, becoming bored with the game, laconically reached out his cigarette end and burst the balloon in my face.
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As soon as they succeed the next person in the team bursts her balloon and the game continues until everyone has finished.
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Dad was better than anyone; he burst six balloons , one after the other.
bank
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Denied its usual egress, the river had burst its banks and was pouring down the fire-ravaged streets.
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The River Deben had burst its banks and people's homes were getting flooded.
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Residents were evacuated from the town as the waters rose and the Ouse threatened to burst its banks .
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There were torrential rains, rivers burst their banks and flooded standing crops, churches were struck by lightning in heavy thunderstorms.
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Dozens are missing - swept away after torrential rains caused rivers to burst their banks .
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The River Frome had burst its banks after torrential rain and the Rovers' ground was absolutely waterlogged.
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Homes and shops were flooded and farm animals marooned as rivers burst their banks .
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If the rain continues then the rivers could swell and burst the banks .
bubble
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The truth is that the bubble has burst .
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The bubble is bound to burst .
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The bubble burst in 1992 and all over the country people were left with burned fingers.
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There are to be no rockets, only soap bubbles bursting in air and the laughter of children.
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By the late 60s the folk-blues bubble had burst .
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But the bubble burst when he failed to raise the cash for the scheme.
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But now dealers say the bubble has burst .
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Scrabble is still the best seller and there's no sign of the Trivial Pursuit bubble bursting either.
door
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I open the door and burst into the warm night air.
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The bedroom door had burst open and Peter was striding into the room.
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The doors of the dining-room burst open.
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Then the pub door burst open and two women tumbled out, drinks in their hands, and began dancing and singing.
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I was squatting there, contemplating my future, when suddenly the door burst open.
energy
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Except sunlight, which pours on the artificial reef in a steady burst of halide energy .
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Mr Devlin portrays himself as a dynamic character, bursting with enthusiasm and energy and commitment to the constituency.
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Yet, the musical execution is slick and the production bursting with energy .
flame
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About midnight four days later, the headquarters building of the Housing Executive burst into flames and was badly damaged.
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The fuel tanks on the planes rupture and burst into flame .
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As she settled back down it continued to cook and burst into flames .
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There is just one drawback to their island paradise: every so often it bursts into flame beneath them.
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The red and bronze leaves, caught in the low sun, looked as though they might at any moment burst into flame .
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Like a sheet of crepe paper, the wooden house burst into flames and burned to the ground in minutes.
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They had both burst into flames after the explosion, police said.
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The tale was as false as the water that refused to burst into flames .
ground
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Now, out into the open ground they burst ....
head
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The ridiculousness of the situation made him smile and, throwing his head back, he burst into peals of laughter.
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His head filled with bursting light, splintering, swirling pain.
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He always had to leave off before he came, feeling sure his head would burst otherwise.
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Some days it felt like my head would burst .
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Waves crashed over their heads and burst through the open saloon door.
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Headache as if head would burst with the cough.
heart
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Then she had gasped as he entered her and her poor heart burst with joy.
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My heart seems about to burst , I can not get my breath.
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She struggled, kicking out hopelessly, and her heart almost burst with panic.
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Neva's heart nearly burst within her for pride and joy at being chosen by such a noble knight.
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And in that instant her heart seemed to burst with love inside her and simultaneously shrivel with grief and helplessness.
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With a heart fit to burst through tension, at last, a noise.
laugh
▪
Archer cried, bursting into a laugh .
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It's bursting with great laughs and good gags.
laughter
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Blue, blue eyes caught and held hers, and she burst into delighted laughter .
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Gorbachev looked shocked by my familiarity, then burst into laughter .
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I found myself wandering round with a wry smile on my face and occasionally bursting into laughter at my own presumption.
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They were doubled over, poking at each other, making cryptic comments and bursting again into laughter .
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They burst into laughter and we piled once again into his car for another search.
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She burst into laughter in the Sabbath dimness of the place.
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The ridiculousness of the situation made him smile and, throwing his head back, he burst into peals of laughter .
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Both of them said the word on the same downbeat, which made them burst into laughter at how hilarious they sounded.
life
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Banks of electrical jiggery-pokery burst into life .
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When he fired his grin, Sammler, himself nearly a corpse, burst into life .
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When he'd appeared just now, her whole body had burst into life .
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The fourth-round replay began at a frantic pace and burst into life after 12 minutes.
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Well Loaded are bursting with life and enough youth to get refused service at the bar.
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The present tidal estuary is far from dormant; in fact, it's bursting with life .
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After a goal-less first half, the game burst into life with a goal and a sending off inside three minutes.
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In between the universe expands, particles pop into existence, galaxies coalesce and stars burst into life .
pipe
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The plumber is ill, the doctor's pipes have burst , and so on.
pride
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Neva's heart nearly burst within her for pride and joy at being chosen by such a noble knight.
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He had succeeded where I had quit, and I almost burst with pride .
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The day I was made sales manager I thought I'd burst with pride .
room
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As soon as the doctor arrived, he ran breathlessly into the house and burst into the room without knocking.
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His partner meanwhile, burst into the room , pistol in hand, the stammerer hard on his heels.
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Depressing the handle, he burst through into the room beyond.
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All of a sudden the far wall exploded inwards and a broiling mass of water burst into the room .
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For example, I just returned from an exhibition and wrote a 6,000 word report in one burst in my hotel room .
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Duncan had been asleep when the policeman burst into the room to give him the news that Leeming had been found.
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Sylvie's voice burst upon the room .
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A group of five or six men, all in flared trousers and dark glasses, burst into the room .
scene
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No working-class party immediately burst on to the scene to dance on the floor of Parliament.
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He himself-like Michael Atherton and Ramprakash-burst on to the scene early.
seam
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Schools are often bursting at the seams .
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Our neighborhood looked like a refugee camp, bursting its seams .
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Bedford was already bursting at the seams with refugees of all kinds.
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As it is, the Shishu Bhawans seem to be bursting at their seams .
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The island couldn't be bursting at the seams , surely?
shell
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As I approached Lovat and the two Officers, a shell burst a short distance away.
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The eighteen guns were back in the cemetery, and a storm of shell began bursting over and among our infantry.
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Every shell that bursts Blows it momentarily out, and he has to light it.
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As the enemy approach still nearer, shells burst upon their compact masses.
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In a trench to his rear that he had ordered to be abandoned the previous night, eight shells burst almost simultaneously.
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The shells were bursting ....
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A twelve-pounder shell ... burst right in front of me.
song
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From time to time somebody would burst into song or laughter, and some people continued to whisper on and off all through the night.
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And with that he clasped both hands gently over his chest and burst into song .
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And indeed, from this lofty site Loch Arkaig itself is a vision to make you burst into song .
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When the choir commenced the first carol, even the most self-conscious among them burst into song .
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She burst into songs between the stories.
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With a smock artfully covering his paunchy frame, Pavarotti, 56, burst into golden-toned song .
tear
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Still pinned to the floor I was about to burst into tears of frustration when I was suddenly released.
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A moment passed, and then Derby burst into tears .
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Once again she was bursting into tears over nothing at all.
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Later I went for a drive, squashed between Koju and Raju, and burst into tears .
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Then she started running wildly through the streets, and when she was exhausted she stopped and burst into tears .
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He took a deep breath, standing quietly by the door, and then surprised himself by bursting into tears .
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You just shout at them and they burst into tears .
■ VERB
feel
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You can feel it bursting the shell.
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She felt as though she might burst with the joy that filled her.
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Her heart pumped so strongly she felt she'd burst .
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Now he felt he would burst if he couldn't impart all that was going on in his mind.
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Why she should suddenly feel like bursting out laughing, Leith had no idea.
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Yet one that was hard to keep to yourself, she could feel it bursting out all over her.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be bursting/bulging at the seams
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The auditorium was bulging at the seams during the governor's talk.
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The island couldn't be bursting at the seams , surely?
burst/prick sb's bubble
fit to burst
▪
He had clearly been sobbing fit to burst, but he was now past that.
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Sam is happy fit to burst.
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The yak meat was tough, but after weeks of barley meal we feasted until fit to burst.
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When she turned round, her cheeks were fat as balloons, fit to burst.
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With a heart fit to burst through tension, at last, a noise.
go up in flames/burst into flames
the bubble bursts
▪
I shall not wait until the bubble bursts.
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The question is, how long can this go on before the bubble bursts?
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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It's a game in which children try to burst balloons by sitting on them.
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The Concorde disaster was caused by a tyre bursting.
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The dam burst after heavy rains.
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Thousands of gallons of oil flowed into the river when an oil pipeline burst .
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
As I approached Lovat and the two Officers, a shell burst a short distance away.
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But Chabert, infectious giggles and all, is close enough to her precocious character to want to burst some picture-perfect bubbles.
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Eversince Doyle burst through the door, furious and shouting and shoving, she had stiffened into ice.
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Some days it felt like my head would burst .
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The train struck a dam, which burst , flooding a small town.
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Their fantastically long tails danced behind like bridal trains and burst into colour when they caught the sun's final rays.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
final
▪
Time perhaps for a final burst of exercise.
▪
But the decision was taken that he should carry on and try to summon one final burst of energy.
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With a final burst of furious rain, the sky cleared and I dragged my bag along the road in blinding sunshine.
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In a final burst of bad temper, Mr Fang said that his time had been wasted.
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Andrew enters at the end of the eighth bar, slightly across the final burst from Waddy.
great
▪
His blood lay Steaming on the snow, bright red, a great burst of it.
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I think I cried about ten minutes in great sobbing bursts of noise, tears, and snot.
long
▪
Suddenly there was a long burst of machine gun fire.
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First a short string of them, then a longer burst leapt up from the dark.
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I could clearly hear the roar of engines above me, and distinctly heard one long burst of cannon fire.
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The longest burst consisted of 13 repetitive waves.
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What we know less about is why some people expend energy in short bursts while others sustain much longer bursts.
occasional
▪
There is a buzz of chatter with an occasional burst of laughter.
▪
And the occasional burst pipe can cause major structural damage rather quickly.
▪
The bombing had stopped, and all we could hear was the occasional burst of gunfire.
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This was not a collection that sparked shouts, cheers or even an occasional burst of polite applause.
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The occasional burst of speed is required to outrun real and imaginary predators.
▪
The occasional burst of singing wafts up through the yellow leaves, mixed with the mouldy astringent smell of rotting apples.
short
▪
It can be caused when skin that isn't used to the sun is exposed to short bursts of strong sunlight.
▪
Hours later, three short bursts of automatic gunfire sent police scurrying for cover Wednesday morning.
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The normal subject displayed only short bursts of reflux with a maximum duration of four minutes.
▪
Shred meat by hand or in short bursts in food processor.
▪
In addition to changes in structure and general climate there is a place for short bursts of motivational effort.
▪
Most also fail to fire short bursts their first try with the machinegun.
▪
From a tap penalty the forwards drove in short bursts , and then took the ball wide to Joe Roff.
▪
The men waded fast through the water after him, crouching, firing short bursts towards the trees.
sudden
▪
The rain pelted down in sudden bursts , but the downpours did not amount to much.
▪
In a single song, he can employ sudden bursts of falsetto or a teasing growl.
▪
She could of course, she thought with that sudden burst of adolescent enthusiasm, not live.
▪
Why the sudden burst of vision?
▪
She saw him crumple them up in a sudden burst of impatience, and fling them across the parade.
▪
I wish I could say that I wrote steadily at the story of my life after that sudden burst of inspiration.
▪
Sounds like a sudden burst of co-operation between the world's tractor makers?
▪
There was a sudden burst of laughing and giggling on the other end.
■ NOUN
bubble
▪
When the art bubble burst , prices not only fell in this area, they stopped.
▪
I shall not wait until the bubble bursts .
▪
But the market saturated, the bubble burst , and everyone thought the console business was finished.
▪
After the bubble burst and concerns about the market grew, annual Show results became closely watched indicators of market strength.
▪
Many software and hardware companies enjoyed rapid expansion before the bubble burst and market growth slowed.
■ VERB
feel
▪
She felt a burst of sympathy but she firmly crushed it.
▪
Mitch looked stunned and she felt an incredible burst of guilt that she had not told him about this girl's problem.
▪
He felt a burst of pain in his eye and cheek.
▪
She felt again a burst of resentment against Treadwell and the Bishop.
▪
She felt a sudden burst of indignation against these overstuffed bigwigs cramming themselves with food, while she sat and starved.
▪
Not that it would be at all necessary, she reassured herself as she felt a sudden burst of fright.
fire
▪
At that moment, Jovic fired a burst and killed Mr Krasniqi.
▪
Most also fail to fire short bursts their first try with the machinegun.
▪
He fired an experimental burst into the air, and waved his armoured troops forwards like George S. Patton himself.
▪
The men waded fast through the water after him, crouching, firing short bursts towards the trees.
▪
I ran to join them and raised my rifle to fire a burst for cover as they ran past me.
▪
Whittingham, who fired a three second burst from astern and then broke away.
follow
▪
There followed a burst of building that radically changed the face of the city.
give
▪
Before it he had been a loud, jovial man, given to spontaneous bursts of affection.
▪
Add the strawberries or jam to the mixture and give them a quick burst .
▪
They come in nine shades and give a short-lived burst of colour which fades over three to four shampoos.
▪
The tail, or caudal fin, is large and sickle-shaped, to give short, rapid bursts of speed.
▪
But this fighter sheered-off without firing a shot, after our rear gunner had given it several short bursts .
▪
She went into the bedroom and gave way to a burst of weeping.
▪
Icy cold man, the old count, and given to bursts of rage.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
burst/prick sb's bubble
fit to burst
▪
He had clearly been sobbing fit to burst, but he was now past that.
▪
Sam is happy fit to burst.
▪
The yak meat was tough, but after weeks of barley meal we feasted until fit to burst.
▪
When she turned round, her cheeks were fat as balloons, fit to burst.
▪
With a heart fit to burst through tension, at last, a noise.
go up in flames/burst into flames
the bubble bursts
▪
I shall not wait until the bubble bursts.
▪
The question is, how long can this go on before the bubble bursts?
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
They scored 14 points in a five-minute burst .
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
A loud burst of singing gave away the presence of the ubiquitous wren.
▪
Surface bursts of large nuclear weapons are an essential part of strategic nuclear war.
▪
The fast twitch fibres have a much higher contraction speed and are associated with dynamic bursts of energy.
▪
There was a burst of incomprehensible laughter.
▪
This had been Sir Ivor at his brilliant best, striking with one deadly burst of speed.